Byrdmouse is a devoted husband and father that says what's on his mind even if no one else agrees with him.

Aug 10 Cant or Abel? Not a Story About a Horse

Two horses were born in the woods. Their father was the lead horse of the pack, but while they were still young, He went away. After a few days he returned and gave them both names, the older he called Cantor and the younger Gamora, then the father left again, never to be seen, though His touch was all over the forest.
Cantor loved to canter, so much so that his nickname was Cant. His brother wanted a nickname, too, so he went by Gam. Both horses were pure white from head to hoof. Not that you could tell, they were normally covered in sticks and brambles with mud splashed high on their backsides. Down in the dirt and mud was their favorite place in all the forest. Cant and Gam were inseparable. They did everything together. They ate together, they played together, they worked together, they sowed wild oats together, and they ran all over the forest. Their father had given them permission to do whatever they wanted, absolute free will. There was nothing they could not do and nowhere they could not go.

Except for the road. The middle of the forest held a road that ran from north to south. It wasn't that they were not allowed on the road, they went across it many times, and even travelled up and down it a time or two but gave up because the road was boring. They didn't want to be on the narrow little path that lead to the great beyond. Until one day, Cant and Gam were grazing by the road when they heard a ruckus. They looked up to see the biggest carriage they had ever imagined heading down the road towards them. It was huge, with coachmen, footmen, and cavalrymen racing along in front of and behind it, but that was not what commanded their attention. It was the six white horses that pulled the carriage.

Neither of them had ever seen anything so regal and majestic. The bridles on their heads were jewel encrusted. Between their ears were set white plumes of shimmering feathers. The reins had jewels and were dyed white to match their manes. Even their hooves sparkled as they tread across the road way carrying the king from place to place. Both horses watched with mouths agape as the stately animals went past. As the carriage went around the bend and out of sight, Cant and Gam looked at each other and had the same simultaneous thought, "I want to be one of those horses."

After checking around, they learned that in order to be one of those horses, they had to be pure white, with no blemishes on their coat. That was easy. They had great genes. While their mother was dappled and gray, their father had been solid white. He had passed the trait on to them and made them white as snow. Other than that, the horses had to be disciplined. They had to train, eat right, sleep right, and just generally act right. This was where Cant lost it. He couldn't bring himself to do the right things. Gam on the other hand wanted it bad. He saw a better life as a horse of the crown and worked as hard as he could until the day he could take the test.

Cant picked on Gam. While Gam stayed clean and straight, Cant kept up with his old ways. Cant would show up where Gam was training and show him how free he was. He neighed and laughed at Gam to demonstrate the freedom Gam was losing.

Finally the day came for Gam to take the test. Cant showed up for support, with his coat full of mud and thorns. Of all the horses that tested that day, only Gam passed with flying colors. As a part of his matriculation, Gam received a new name, Abel. As Abel, he only had to work one day a week, the other six he was free to do what he wanted.

He still got to run in the forest, and even hang out with Cant, but while he could get in the mud and bushes, Abel did his best not to. From time to time he slipped and got dirty. The stablehands didn't complain, they just cleaned him up without a word. Cant picked on him mercilessly about what Abel could or could not do.

For the rest of their lives, Cant lived the life of freedom and bragged about his ability to go wherever he wanted. For his part, Abel lived his life walking along with Cant, going everywhere he went, and then the places Cant could not.